The invention relates to a buoyant safety boom to provide a physical barrier and visual warning to swimmers and boaters to avoid water hazards, such as dams, gates, locks, intake pipes, rapids and the like.
Buoyant booms comprising a band of rope or chain with floats spaced along the length of the flexible band, are used as a physical barrier and visual warning on water surfaces for example to warn swimmers and boaters to avoid water hazards, to divide swimming areas into deep water and shallow water for the protection of children and as well can be used for containment systems such as to collect surface oil during an environmental accident, to provide a shark barrier or divide a fish farm or oyster farm area where the boom suspends a fence or net downwardly from the water surface.
In the example provided in the present application, the boom provides a buoyant safety barrier to prevent swimmers or boaters from approaching within a hazardous distance to a dam or gate across a river. The booms are designed to remain in service year round and will not be damaged due to cold climates, ice flows, or floating debris. The booms are designed to permit ice flows and floating debris to pass under the booms.
Particularly in fast moving rivers however the floats of a boom are often drawn under the water surface by the current flows created by the water flow past the floats. Since the boom function is to provide a visual warning and a physical barrier, obviously drawing the boom under the water surface defeats this purpose.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a buoyant boom with rotary mounted floats which can be subjected to high rates of surface water flow while maintaining a high free board as a visual warning and physical barrier.
Further objects of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention below.
The invention provides a buoyant boom having: an elongate band extending across a water surface; floats rotatably mounted to the band with rotary bearings between each float and the band; and anchors securing the band at its ends or middle portion to a support, such as a river bed or a river bank structure for example.